Author Archives: bobwootton

Got two more visitors passing through for a bit of setup work – a rare ’70 rosewood Tele and a late 50’s Vox AC15. Tele The first rosewood Teles from ~’68 (like the one George Harrison made famous in The … Continue reading →

Friend N’s ’68 Thinline was in for a setup. Pictured here with my used but fab ’72 blonde/rosewood. Both play extremely well for Teles from a troubled period. The neck profile of the Thinline has the slightest ‘v’ about it, whereas … Continue reading →

From left, ’59 ES335; ’54 Goldtomp & ’58 Sunburst, all in Cali Girl cases with canvas overcases. Yup.

Novamusicians confirmed as a scam. I thought this Jakarta, Indonesia-based dealer was too good to be true but tested the water by pursuing a small exploratory purchase to be sure. It’s well-executed to the point of having a scam shipping … Continue reading →

A 2008 Tokai FB40, a copy of a Gibson Firebird 1, but with several differences. The body is almost the right shape, but the lower horn is wider and the whole body is thicker.  It has a set neck and the … Continue reading →

The arrival of the latest Fractal Audio email update reminded me to express a view I’ve harboured for some time. I sometimes act as brand ambassador/demonstrator/adviser to a leading UK audio/tech company, and was a fairly early adopter of an Axe-Fx … Continue reading →

I got together with a few chums and a barn full of kit yesterday. On the rack were : Combos : Lazy J 20w; Divided by 13 EDT 13/29; Matchless 30/15, Swart Atomic Space Tone Heads : 633 custom 36w; … Continue reading →

It arrived yesterday so I put it against a Klon and several other pedals. I wanted not to like the Klon but was won over by its transparency. The Archer is very close indeed. A/B/A+Bing with both set not to … Continue reading →

Looks beautiful and sounds even better.  Headroom AND breakup to die for, either at once or separately using the headroom control.  There different voices – ‘vox’, ‘tweed’ and ‘blackface’ – great simple tone controls, pre- and/or switchable power-amp drive, hi-cut to … Continue reading →

This is a One Stromp, designed by a friend and custom built for him by S J Effects. It contains a really good drive section, reverb and delay with modulation. it’s intended to be the only pedal you need for … Continue reading →